Why SMS is the undercover game changer for your business

You can’t run a successful business without nailing your communication. How you communicate with your current clients and future clients is vital to your success.

SMS marketing might seem like the poor cousin in the overall marketing mix, but it’s time to give this tool the kudos it really deserves!

When it comes to engagement, SMS marketing thrashes email, Facebook and Instagram. It’s a Jack-of-all-trades marketing tool that can have a positive impact on your business, your client experience and your revenue.

99% of the text messages you send your clients get opened, often within the first 3 minutes of being received. That’s a massive increase compared to the open rate of 33% from your standard email marketing campaigns.

We live in a digital world where, for better or for worse, we’re always connected via our smartphones. On average, people look at their phones 85 times a day.

The best part? You can have a two-way conversation with your client straight from Timely! The client can respond to any message you’ve sent, and you’ll see their response in Timely. You can reply and keep the conversation going, and the whole chat history will be available in their Timely account in case you need to reference it in future.

Elevate your business with SMS

Use SMS messaging in your business to

• improve efficiency,
• reduce no-shows,
• create an exceptional client experience,
• increase your profit and
• maintain your brand/reputation.

Improve efficiency

There’s no extra work for you when you use SMS to communicate with your clients. Simply set up automatic appointment confirmation and reminder messages. You’ll save yourself a tonne of admin time and you won’t have to worry about no-shows.

Create an exceptional client experience

Communicating with clients is a breeze using SMS messaging. Send texts to remind them of their upcoming appointments, to thank them for coming in, and to let them know about any aftercare instructions. Surprise and delight your clients by sending them birthday wishes and discounts too.

Increase your profit

Maximise your time and your profit by scheduling automatic client reminder messages. You can also increase your bookings by sending text messages to clients you haven’t seen in a while.

Protect and maintain your brand

SMS can help build client loyalty. You can use SMS messaging to ask your clients for reviews and referrals. Just be authentic and your clients will be thrilled to hear from you. You can even use positive reviews in your business marketing!

The 3 must-have types of SMS messaging

Don’t be overwhelmed at the thought of adding something else to your to do list. Timely has user-friendly SMS options which can help reduce no-shows, improve the client experience, reduce client churn, get feedback and reviews, and promote your products and services to increase bookings.

Here are the 3 best ways to use SMS messaging:

1. Client reminders:

Your clients are busy, which means they don’t have the time to be checking their calendars all the time. Sending them friendly reminders and confirmation messages will make sure they don’t miss out on the appointment they’ve been looking forward to!

SMS confirmation messages: Save time with automated confirmation messages to clients that automatically update your calendar once the appointment has been confirmed

SMS reminder messages: Reduce no-shows by automatically reminding clients of their appointment

One-off messaging: Stay organised and in control with the ability to send one-time SMS messages to clients from within Timely. We’ll deliver any replies right to your account, so all your communications are in one place

2. Automated marketing:

Automated marketing takes the stress out of growing your business. Save admin time, get your business fully booked and provide a great client experience with these easy-to-use automated marketing tools.

SMS thank you messages: Deliver an exceptional client experience with thank you messages. A thank you message is short and sweet (SMS if the perfect channel for this). Thank you messages help build client relationships and lift your brand.

SMS aftercare messages: A great client experience continues after they’ve left. You can set up automatic aftercare messages by service, so if you’re offering services like IPL, dental work or body art, you might need to follow up an appointment with important information like aftercare instructions, post-treatment advice or tips on how to maintain their new tattoo.

SMS review requests: Improve brand awareness, credibility and SEO search rankings by requesting reviews from your loyal clients. Timely offers flexible options so you can get reviews from your preferred channels, like. Facebook, Google, and Yelp –  you just need to add the link to your message, sit back and watch your brand grow.

SMS rebooking messages: Increase bookings by automatically sending re-booking reminders to your clients. These reminders are an important part of a solid client retention strategy. Sending reminder texts will make your clients feel like you value them, and want them to come back.

SMS reconnect messages: Reconnect with clients you’ve not seen or heard from for a while.  Increase your chances of a rebooking by including a sweetener like 10% off if they rebook. You could even throw in an add-on to get them rushing back through the door. Everyone loves free stuff!

SMS referral request: Many salons gain new clients entirely by word of mouth referrals. Setting up an automated SMS message to encourage referrals is a quick and easy way to keep clients coming through the door. You can even track referrals in Timely.

3. SMS Campaign marketing

Targeted SMS campaigns: Drive sales, improve brand awareness, generate new clients and remind clients of special events and appointments through a targeted SMS campaign to a select group of people. This could be a small group of just your regulars, determined by service, staff or date they last visited, or a larger group like your entire client base.

How to get the most out of your SMS marketing

Here are some great tips to help you get maximum impact:

• Personalise your text – make your clients feel special by using their first name.
• Get your timing right- don’t send texts too early in the morning, or too late at night. Be respectful of your clients’ time.
• Keep your message short & sweet and on point – easy to do with 160 characters!
• Ask for reviews – you’re asking them for a favour, so sweeten the deal with a discount off their next service.
• Keep your database up-to-date  – make sure you’re sending texts to your actual clients.
• Don’t spam! Set up automated marketing messages based on how often a client comes in and the services they use.

Get started with SMS marketing today: get all this information and even more juicy tips in our free SMS Marketing Guide.

Timely customers can learn more in this Help Guide: Getting started with automated customer messages.